Chapter 127: Hatake Kakashi
"Hey, Naruto," Satsuki turned her head, naturally asking the person beside her, her tone instantly shedding all coldness.
It became light and even carried a hint of acting spoiled, "Why hasn't our supervising Jonin arrived yet? All the other teams were already taken away."
"It's simple," Naruto shrugged, "looks like the guy instructing us is a 'problem' Jonin who likes being late."
Sakura beside them looked somewhat dejected at the unobstructed, intimate and natural interaction between Satsuki and Naruto, forming a stark contrast to the cold treatment she had just received.
She felt a little jealous inside, but wasn't surprised. She had long heard that Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Satsuki had grown up together since childhood—they were true childhood friends, so having such a close relationship was normal.
...Would she be able to become familiar with Satsuki and chat naturally like this after spending more time with her in the future?
Sakura couldn't help but harbor such expectations in her heart.
"As a ninja, to be late on such an important day," Satsuki's tone carried obvious dissatisfaction and complaint, "what kind of person is our supervising Jonin anyway?"
Facing Satsuki's complaints, Naruto began trying hard to recall Kakashi's first appearance in the original story.
"Well... based on my speculation," Naruto stroked his chin, "someone who would choose to be late on this kind of occasion is most likely a guy who's usually lazy and unmotivated, always likes being late, looks somewhat unreliable, and might even be a bit scheming..."
At this moment, outside the classroom door, a silver-haired masked ninja who had just arrived and was reaching out to push the door suddenly froze upon hearing the clear evaluation coming from inside. "..."
However, Naruto wasn't finished speaking. He paused, then added another sentence.
"But since he could pass the strict screening to become a Jonin and was assigned to instruct us... he should be the type who's usually carefree but surprisingly reliable and powerful when it comes to critical moments."
Satsuki listened to Naruto's analysis and nodded thoughtfully. Just then—
"Yare yare..." A male voice carrying some laziness and helplessness suddenly came from the doorway.
The classroom door was pushed open with a "whoosh."
A man with silver hair, wearing a standard Jonin vest, half his face tightly covered by a mask, revealing only one lifeless dead-fish eye, lazily entered.
"Meeting for the first time and already talking about your future teacher behind his back—what unlikeable brats."
Kakashi's exposed eye curved into a crescent shape, "Making random guesses and evaluations about others isn't a good habit, you know."
---
Naruto looked at this lazy silver-haired Jonin before him, feeling a strange sensation in his heart.
This was his second time "meeting" Kakashi... The last time was when he played the role of Menma, caused havoc in Konoha, and even threw out the Great Rasengan Ring to intimidate the entire world.
At that time, Kakashi was also one of the elite Anbu standing ready in formation, completely different from his current casual appearance.
The four of them moved to the rooftop of the school building. The scene was familiar just like in the original story, with Kakashi casually leaning against the railing while the three new Genin sat in a row on the steps opposite him.
"How should I put it..." Kakashi scratched his unruly silver hair, "Anyway, let's all do self-introductions first to get to know each other."
Hearing this, Sakura tilted her head in confusion. "Self-introductions? But what should we say?" She tried to appear polite and cooperative.
"Well..." Kakashi looked up at the sky with his exposed dead-fish eye, "Things you like, things you hate, future dreams, hobbies and such... that's about it."
Looking at Kakashi's truly unmotivated appearance, Sakura felt helpless inside. Naruto really got it right... he really is a lazy and half-hearted teacher.
She couldn't help but suggest, "Isn't that just the normal introduction method from the Ninja Academy? Also, shouldn't you introduce yourself first, sensei, to set an example for us?"
"Me?" Kakashi seemed to just remember this, pointing at his own forehead protector as he began his self-introduction.
"My name is Hatake Kakashi. As for things I like and hate... well, nothing I particularly want to mention. Future dreams...?"
He deliberately drew out his tone, building suspense, then said leisurely, "...As for hobbies, I have quite a few."
What is this guy doing?! In the end, we still only know his name! He didn't say anything else at all! He's completely just brushing us off!
In Sakura's inner world, another hot-tempered version of herself was already flipping tables and roaring madly.
But on the surface, she still tried to maintain a polite yet awkward smile, her mouth twitching slightly as she said, "I... I see... hehe..."
Kakashi casually pointed at Naruto, "Alright, now it's your turn. Hmm... let's start with you."
"Oh!"
Naruto wore a sunny smile, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! What I like most is ramen, and as for what I hate... I don't seem to particularly hate anything right now. As for my dream..."
"If there's any danger in the future, I want to have enough power to protect the people important to me."
Not like a kid this age...
Kakashi silently gave his assessment. He turned his gaze to Sakura.
"Good, next one."
"Yes!"
Sakura immediately sat up straighter, "I'm Haruno Sakura! What I like is... red bean soup! And..." She secretly glanced quickly at Satsuki beside her.
"I don't particularly hate anything! My dream is..." She gathered her courage and said, "To become a beautiful and powerful kunoichi!"
Kakashi nodded noncommittally and finally turned his gaze to the black-haired girl sitting at the edge.
Uchiha Satsuki felt the gaze and maintained her usual indifferent expression, though her tone was fairly steady. "I'm Uchiha Satsuki. Things I hate... there are many."
Like annoying people who try to get close to Naruto, overly sweet desserts, and that woman who betrayed everything...
"What I like... is food that Naruto makes."
"My dream is..." She paused here, instinctively sneaking a glance at Naruto beside her. Her face uncontrollably showed a faint blush, then she somewhat awkwardly turned her head away, her voice lowering, "...I can't say that."
Naruto understood. It seemed that this version of Satsuki, having both parents alive and a warm family, didn't make "revenge" her dream and ambition like in the original story...
Though she didn't say it out loud, the goal of "taking down Uchiha Itachi" was definitely still on her list... even though the current Itachi was being watched closely by Shisui, living in isolation in an underground base of the Ember organization.
His thoughts drifted, thinking of that secret base in the Land of Hot Water, where after completing his daily Anbu training and management work, Shisui would unfailingly go to that special confinement room to patiently do "ideological work" over and over again with that girl who had lost her eyes and was now called "Yu"...
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